Chena Hot Springs

Nearby Parks

Interior Alaska may get cold during the winter months, but residents know how to stay warm – dipping into Chena Hot Springs near Fairbanks.

About Chena Hot Springs

Chena Hot Springs is an unincorporated community in the Fairbanks North Star Borough that is renowned for its hot springs and private resort. These destinations, in addition to a campground, are located at the end of Chena Hot Springs Road, a forest-flanked paved road that parallels the Chena River, 56 miles east of the Steese Highway and Fairbanks. From Mile 26 to Mile 51, drivers pass through Chena River State Recreation Area, a 397-square-mile preserve that includes the Chena River valley and nearby alpine areas. The recreation area is home to some of the best hiking, canoeing, public-use cabins and fishing in the area.

Although there are year-round residents in the area, Chena Hot Springs is a privately owned, 440–acre, year-round resort. Gold miners discovered the springs in 1905 and by 1912 Chena Hot Springs was the premier place to soak for residents in the booming town of Fairbanks.

Things to do

The springs are at the center of a 40-square-mile geothermal area and produce a steady stream of water that, at 165 degrees, must be cooled before you can even think about soaking in it. The facility has several indoor and outdoor tubs, Jacuzzis, an indoor family swimming pool and outdoor Rock Lake – a boulder-ringed artificial lake that provides a wonderful and relaxing vantage point for watching northern lights in winter.

Complimentary geothermal renewable energy tours are offered daily that showcase the resort’s renewable energy projects using geothermal power. In the summer, visitors also enjoy hiking, horseback riding, sled-dog cart rides, ATV tours, mountain biking, rafting, canoe trips, fishing for grayling, gold panning and even massage therapy. As if that weren’t enough, the resort is also home to the Aurora Ice Museum, the world’s largest year-round ice museum with its very own ice bar! From September to March, the resort is one of the best places in Alaska to view the northern lights.

The Fairbanks Convention & Visitors Bureau (800-327-5774) provides information for Chena River State Recreation Area and Chena Hot Springs.

Attractions

Aurora Ice Museum

Chena Hot Springs is home to the world's largest year-round ice environment in the world, the Aurora Ice Museum. Completed in 2005, the museum is constructed from more than 1,000 tons of ice and snow and is open year-round. Inside are is a gallery of ice sculptures, a two story observation tower with a circular staircase, a polar bear bedroom, a Christmas tree bedroom, an igloo and an ice outhouse. Tours conclude with a stop at the Ice Bar with its ice-carved martini glasses and caribou fur-covered stools.

Canoeing and Rafting

With no whitewater and easy public access, the Chena River is one of the most popular rivers to float in the Fairbanks area with a variety of day and multi-day trips are possible in either canoes or rafts. A series of boat launches are located along Chena Hot Springs Road and canoes can be rented in Chena Hot Springs or Fairbanks.

Chena Hot Springs

Chena Springs are a natural hot springs that have been popular since the early 1900s and possibly longer as there is evidence Native Alaskans enjoyed the springs as well. Today the water is pumped into several indoor and outdoor tubs and Jacuzzis that sooth weary visitors at 106 degrees and into an indoor pool at 94 degrees. There is also Rock Lake, a boulder-ringed outdoor swimming hole with a fountain at its center.

Flightseeing

The easiest way to see the rugged terrain that is Chena River State Recreation Area is with a flightseeing tour that can be arranged at the Chena Hot Springs airstrip.

Horseback Riding

A horse stable at Chena Hot springs allows visitors to explore the surrounding woods and foothills on horseback. Rides are guided and can be as short as half hour.

Mountain Biking

Mountain bikes are available for rent at Chena Hot Springs and are an excellent way to explore the nearby trails and two-tracks.

Northern Lights

Well away from the city lights of Fairbanks, Chena Hot Springs is an excellent place to see the aurora borealis or, as they are more commonly known as, the northern lights. Generally by late summer the aurora begins to appear and can be enjoyed by those willing to stay up after midnight. By mid-September the lights are dazzling and in the winter the most popular activity is soaking in the outdoor hot tubs while watching the northern lights overhead.

Public-Use Cabins

There are seven public use cabins located throughout Chena River State Recreation Area and can be reserved online through the Alaska Stare Parks reservation system (dnr.alaska.gov/parks/cabins).

Sled Dog Rides

Sled dog kennels at Chena Hot Springs offer tours of the facilities that are often home to more than 50 dogs. Sled dog rides are offered year-round with teams running across snow-covered trails in the winter and a custom wheeled cart replacing the sled in the summer.

Sportfishing

The Chena River is renown for its catch-and-release arctic grayling fishery while also in the state recreation area are four road-accessible ponds that are stocked annually with rainbow trout and with arctic grayling and open for fishing.